Sri Lanka's Newest Mystery Spinner - Kevin Koththigoda

Wednesday, 15 November 2017

Sri Lanka's Newest Mystery Spinner - Kevin Koththigoda

Bowling
actions have always been a topic of a lot of discussions over the years in the
game of cricket. The first bowling action to be spoken about in terms of being
different in the colour TV age was South African spinner Paul Adams. The left
arm spinner took the world by storm as batsmen were left bamboozled by the
action.

The latest addition to the list which also includes India’s
Shivil Kaushik is Sri Lanka’s 18-year old spinner named Kevin Koththigoda who’s
unorthodox action is likely to leave more than a few batsmen stumped.

Kevin broke into the spotlight in the ongoing U-19 Asia Cup in Malaysia.
The right arm leg break bowler who, hails from Unawatuna was part of the Sri
Lankan team that beat Afghanistan by 61 runs. Kevin ended the game with one
wicket to his name.

The leg-spinner has a bowling action similar to that of the
former South African chinaman bowler Adams.

"He has a very unusual action. It's like that of Paul
Adams. The action wasn't coached or anything, it came naturally to him.
Initially, he was struggling with the length as he couldn't see the pitch, but
he has improved tremendously," said former Sri Lanka 'A' opener Dhammika
Sudarshana according to Cricbuzz.

"He came with his parents and asked me whether he could change
schools. It was a fair request and we didn't have any objections,"
Sudarshana explained.

"Since his action is unique, the batsmen get confused.
He is an excellent fielder and a decent batsman. He has got a very bright
future ahead of him," Sudarshana added. "He has an incredible action,
but lands the ball in the right areas. (He is a) lovely kid and has a good
future," said Sarath Asoka.